Softball team welcomes back the walking wounded for stretch run

Thursday

May 10, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 10, 2007 at 10:19 AM

It has been an up-and-down season for the Danvers softball team.

Peter Legasey/Correspondent

Several players have missed time with injury and the team is only now getting back to full strength. For head coach Tara Petrocelli, the main task at hand is to make sure that the pieces settle into place and form a consistent unit for a late season run.

“Everyone’s starting to play as a team,” coach Petrocelli said. “It’s nice that we finally have our whole team put back together and healthy. I don’t think we’ve peaked yet and I’m looking forward to that happening soon.”

In the midst of some injuries to regulars, other players have stepped to the forefront and surprised their coach with major contributions, giving her more options as she tries to fill out the best lineup card with healthy bodies.

A couple of underclassmen in particular, freshman third baseman Joanna Zecha and sophomore catcher Jillian Carroll have established themselves as key components.

“(Zecha) is very versatile player,” Petrocelli said. “She has great speed and has been swinging the bat well. Walking into the season I knew she was going to help us but I didn’t know just how much. And (Carroll) has just done a great job with [our pitchers] as far as blocking balls and generally coming into her own as a catcher.”

Last weekend, the Falcons played back-to-back games against Beverly, trading shutouts with the Panthers over the course of two games.

Beverly took the first round, scattering four hits as they blanked Danvers, 2-0.

“We actually were hitting the ball pretty well that day, but sometimes the hits just don’t fall,” said Petrocelli. “Beverly played extremely well. Their pitching kept us off balance.”

The Falcons flipped the table over on the Panthers, when they returned the favor, 3-0 May 5.

Sophomore pitcher Diana Bean threw all seven innings to record the shutout, scattering seven hits and striking out two while the defense threw some fancy leather around behind her.

Burnham, in particular, continued her stellar defensive play of late, turning a key double play in the sixth and making a pair of spectacular catches over her shoulder.

Burnham went 2-for-4 at the plate and Kayla Corbett went 1-for-3 with a pair of RBIs including a solo home run in the fifth.

The Falcons took a step backwards after a hard-fought 9-8 loss against Revere May 7, a game in which Danvers had some uncharacteristic struggles in the field allowing the Revere batters several more chances at the plate.

The game got off to a promising start as Danvers put four runs on the board in the top of the first. Revere answered right back in the home half, however, plating six runs.

Moholland paced the Danvers offense, going 3-for-3 with three RBIs, including a homerun in the first.

The Falcons had another chance to score in the third when senior leftfielder Taylor Orlando hit a triple and was thrown out at the plate trying to stretch it into an inside-the-park homer.

The Falcons, whose record now sits at 6-6, hope to get back off the ground Friday when they play at Gloucester, followed by a home game against Salem Saturday.